The House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic announced a probe on Tuesday of the government's COVID-19 vaccine mandates and policies at federal agencies.
The investigation will look into "the development and implementation of overreaching, federal COVID-19 vaccination mandates" at the Department of Defense, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, the U.S. Department of Labor, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, according to a statement by Chair Brad Wenstrup, R-Ohio, first reported by The Hill.
The Select Subcommittee is asking the departments of Defense, Labor, Personnel Management, and Health and Human Services to provide any relevant data on requested exemptions and terminated employment resulting from the implementation of the COVID-19 vaccine mandates, Wenstrup said.
"Although all federal mandates have since been rescinded, overturned, or otherwise ended, the detrimental consequences of these policy decisions continue to affect thousands of Americans, and the federal government's egregious interference in the sacred doctor-patient relationship will undoubtedly have long-lasting ramifications," Wenstrup said.
The vaccine requirements were issued by the President Joe Biden White House for federal employees and contractors in September 2021, and for international air travelers the following month. They ended in May of this year.
Exemptions were allowed for medical and religious reasons.